2008 Woodie Awards
Cans Across America deemed a success this year
Meredith Clinton
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News
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The goal is to collect the most food in one day to set a Guinness World Record. The food collected is donated to charities and shelters within the community in which it has been collected.
This year's event raised over twice the amount as last year. Ron Beimel, General Manager of Dining Services, said, "We collected 542 pounds of food this year with students donating over $270 of their own Flex and Dining Dollars toward the effort.
These students should be applauded for their selfless giving and I would like to thank them for their donations to this worthy cause. All of the food collected will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast, PA."
Last year only 250 pounds of food were collected, and this year's collection goal had been set at 300. Other schools that participate in Cans Across America through Sodexho include Lehigh University, Moravian College, DeSales University, and Lafayette College, Northampton Community College. Assistance in coordinating the event came from Tom Henry, Garden Room Manager, and Jennifer Cohen '09, Student Manager of the Garden Room, along with the help of Kate Cartwright, Assistant. Director of Community Service and Civic Engagement, and Beth Halpern, Director of Community Service and Civic Engagement, in the Community Service Office.
"My role as Student Manager of Garden Room was to market this event to the best of my ability. I worked in conjunction with the Community Service Office to reach out to students about this event. Next year we hope to have an even bigger turn out and really show people what the students here are capable of. As a result of Cans Across America, I hope to see students more involved in the homeless community as well as increase awareness of the problem. We hope to send out the message to students that they can help and we want to show them how much one dollar or one can can help those in need," said Cohen.
Seeing as the event was such a big success this year, it is very likely that it will be seen on campus for years to come. "Hopefully we will gain even more momentum and beat this year's total next year," said Beimel.